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Against the grade

Last week I watched a man dressed in all black leather flash a gold ring at people from short distances within a plaza. He wore a badge around his neck in a lanyard. His hat was made of leather, too. I’m not sure what kind of badge it was. A few months back a man in a trench coat with a suit underneath asked if I had a minute. He told me he was just out of the hospital. Impeccably dressed, he smelled like he hadn’t bathed in weeks, which kind of ruined the hospital narrative for me. He adjusted his green tie with blackened fingers. Last month, the man in this photo watched me as if he were haunted by my presence as he walked the other side of the street. I probably looked like I was about to point my camera in his direction. When he finally turned up the street, I snapped this photo. He then flipped around and watched me, walking backward against the grade. I could tell he was scared of me, so I waved.Purchase a print of this photo